Sandru rubs his chin, thinking. "I'd rather not leave or wreck any of our wagons unless we desperately need to. Never know when that extra space may come in handy. And we're generally more secure with larger numbers... wish we had more, honestly." He gives a wistful smile.

Ultimately, its Harlan's call, but none of your crew want to remain in Iqaliat.

Also note that Maeve talked about buying new (or heavily used) extras for that express purpose - that would be the reason for needing to come back after setting the diversion. I'll lay everything out tomorrow afternoon again, I hope. Certainly no later than tomorrow evening.

I, personally, am waiting for Maeve's plan to see what we need to do/tweak before adding anything. Other than that, I'm ready to go ... will double check possible purchases. As for gear, we did sell everything that we wished to correct? Heng gave us the breakout in the OOC?

I'm kind of debating on whether I should use the post I've been working on - it ended up being long to put it mildly (1250 words.) But it does lay out most of the stuff we've already seen along with Maeve's reasoning on why she doesn't just want to use the Seal without some kind of precaution. And looking it over there are a couple more changes I want to make. It should be up within the hour.

Once everyone is settled in around the campfire for the breakfast feast, Maeve sighs deeply. "We've been putting off this discussion long enough, and I think it's time we finally had it. There are some...misconceptions...surrounding our foes. Half the group seems to believe that the Five Storms are some kind of all powerful demons, and everyone else seems to be treating them like mortals with some exceptional resources.

"Both of these estimates are dead wrong, and putting too much faith in either assumption could be a fatal error later." [/

[spoiler=Definitions]Making sure that that pronouncement has gotten everyone's attention, Maeve continues. "Let's start with an actual definition of what an oni is. For the sake of those who haven't been trying to develop enough of a foundation in arcane and extra-planar theory to fake teaching at a magical college (and you're probably thankful for someone else doing that job), I'll try to skip over details you don't care about. We're all familiar with the kami by now - at least on a practical level. There's one working within the Amatatsu Seal, serving as its' guardian and the source of its' magic. Suishen, you'll need to confirm, but you're a different sort of kami as well, I believe. In short, kami are a sort of guardian spirit, not a ghost or any sort of undead, and not quite an angel in type. It might be easiest to consider them almost as the least of the gods, with a portfolio narrowed down to a particular object or area and little power beyond that."

"As the least of the gods, kami are bound by a very specific set of rules governing their actions in this realm," Maeve continues her lesson. "These rules are essentially beyond mortal understanding, but as binding on kami as the rules that pull you towards the ground, or the rules that prevent Desna from locking herself in a prison capable of holding her and swallowing the key,"

"Sorry about the segue there, but there was a point. Because you see, an oni is nothing more, and just as importantly, nothing less than a kami who deserted its' post in favor of posessing a mortal,"

Analysis:

"This has a number of implications. The first is that, by breaking such a fundamental law of reality, every oni has done certain things. These do a wide vareity of things, affecting everything from the oni's mind, to the host, to even the very essence of the combined entity."

Pausing again to catch her breath, Maeve's lecture goes on. "The first is that every oni is a creature of elemental chaos and evil. It is forevermore a part of their nature. The second is that the transformation is irreversible. So far as I am aware, there has never been a successful effort to remove an oni from its' host, because on some level the host has to invite it in. If it is possible, it's beyond our means."

"The second is that, when it's born, every oni is inflicted with a thirst for mortal experiences. Especially the ones that hurt mortals and kami. They also desire power, and to subjugate any other beings they come across."

"The third thing is that the combined entity is still bound by the same rules it had to obey as a kami. That means there are actions it can't take, under any circumstances."

"Four, the oni becomes mortal. If you kill its' body, it dies, and may not even go to Pharasma's judgement. This is more difficult than it sounds, because the oni's presence in the physical world sustains and repairs its' body, like a troll. You've all seen this, and in most cases fire or acid should suffice to overcome it. Well, I hope, legends aren't wholly clear on that point."

"The last, and perhaps most important to our immediate topic, is that they become even more tightly bound to this world than the kami are. This is a place where I'm skipping over a lot of the theory involved, but demons and devils, and their ilk, can be anywhere and everywhere in part because they are not of this world. Thus, even the meanest devil can potentially have a shortcut between two points on Golarion through his real home. I believe oni lack this, and to travel instantly between places they have to use powerful mortal magics, just like we do."

"As proof, look to Kalsgard. If the Five Storms had easy access to teleportation magics, they would have had more reinforcements there waiting for us after the events at Brinewall. In fact, they should have gone to Brinewall itself after we left, since the Seal is everything to them. Just to make sure we didn't leave it behind. I asked Koya to perform some divinations to confirm all this."

A quick shake of her head. "No, the Five Storms are bound to this world, and therefore its' rules. That's going to be our biggest strength in combating them. They have to follow the same restrictions of movement, need to eat and drink, and basically everything else you can think of."

"As to their mindset..." Maeve goes on "What do we have, and what can we extrapolate from that? Well, in short, the Five Storms are almost guaranteed to be a bunch of greedy, self-centered, egocentric maniacs who are only working together because the most powerful of them is strong enough to bully the ones under him, who have their own victims to bully in return. None of them is really going to want to come up north, and they'll fight over who has to do it."

Strategy:

"And they will send someone to do it. The Seal is too important to their plans. So, let's break it down."

"In all cases, regardless of what we do, when we open that box at least one Oni will be sent to respond. Because of the morozko that response will probably be delayed at least until early spring, but they will come."

"If we just open the box once, that will likely be it - there will be one oni who comes to the village to ask what happened. It will hear about our explots, and its' mission will be done, and it'll be in a remote village with a bunch of mortals to play with."

"While it may seem counterintuitive, I think forcing a bigger response is better for both us and the village. The Five Storms are still forced to act in secret. Anything they do requiring the numbers of people needed to search the snows will have to pass through Ordu-Aganhei, which will require them to both take pains to disguise their origin and probably strain relations with whoever rules that place."

”All of this will take time, and more importantly, the bigger the response we can provoke, the longer it will take. If we do this right, they'll have sent a small army out that we can slip behind, and reach Minkai before that army can actually cause any damage at either end. At worst, they see through it and we're no worse off than just opening the box to begin with – they'll set the response at Ordu-Aganhei or even just fortify in Minkai. At best....”

Heng has a strained look on his face as he listens to Maeve and he isn't certain he has caught all the finer points between demons, kami, and oni, but he's appreciative of the information. "That sounds reasonable, Maeve," he offers. He once again rubs his tattooed scalp. "I sometimes have flashes of insight into such matter, but here I am afraid that I have nothing to offer."

"Well, yes. Carefully planned noise would be best. Think like you're telling a story you want the oni to believe, that they'll want to believe, then manufacture the evidence that points to that story."

"Bound spirits, kami laws... you explained everything very thoroughly, but I have no experience with these things. I will take your word on such matters, but could you be specific about what you think we should do?"

"My point is really that we want them looking in the wrong direction as much as possible," Maeve says, closing her eyes to think about it some more. "The destroyed wagon is a nice touch if we take much longer than the turning of the seasons, but probably not strictly necessary." Another pause, this one much longer. "The more important things are timing and veracity. It we do it over the high ice, they'll know we didn't go into the morozko which is what we really want them to believe..." She closes her eyes again...."...but they can probably actually view what happens when we open the box, if they think about it. So here's how I want to play this. First, we bring Mal back on our way north, along the road. Then, a few days later, we open it again, further on the way and with Ulf taking us on a "shortcut" that he knows better than to actually guide anyone down...Ulf, I assume you know something like that?"

"The second time....we'll need to fake some kind of deathly winter disease. Ameiko, I think it will have to be your job to be sick. Can the Seal heal sick people, or do we have any reason to believe it can?"

"Well, yes... it has other less powerful healing powers, though still fairly limited. The only problem with using the resurrection power is that it drains the Seal for a month. I'm sure we can work around that, however."

"As Parity said, for our purposes that's perfect anyway. You lay in bed, cough a little, maybe a bit of makeup to make you a bit paler, a couple of us curse about how it brought back the dead but it can't cure a little cough, close the box back up, and it's in the bag."

Ameiko chuckles, "I'm sure my act won't be far from the truth. This cold... just can't escape it. What I wouldn't do for a hot, steamy bath right now!" She gazes into the distance wistfully, then sighs in mockery of her own vanity. "Is there anything else, or are we ready to move out?"

Same Q from the DM... Also, wrap up any level-up details (Malnival included - you WILL get rezzed!)

Heng listens carefully to the conversation. "So we need only to open the box to send a signal to the oni? It sounds like they cannot observe what occurs or even what power the seal employs. Perhaps the play acting is overdoing it. So let us make our way then and raise Malnival when we near our destination."

"I'm assuming the absolute worst case we can possibly deal with. That case is that they'll have access to remote viewing magic, as well as the ability to determine the location of the box," Maeve explains patiently. "I think that that's within Koya's own abilities, if she knows the place she wishes to see ahead of time, so it's definitely something we should assume they have access to."

When the storm passes the next day, which somebody realizes is the first of the last month of the year, you drive the caravan up along the ramps outside Iqaliat and start across the High Ice. The entire population of the village comes out to see you depart, many waving and cheering you on despite the grim trek ahead. Sonavut and Qalvanaq are at the top of the climb, and are the last to see you off.

The first couple days from Iqaliat go steadily, and the wide expanse of the High Ice remains as featureless as it did on the way to Vegsundvaag's lair. On subsequent days, however, Ulf has trouble finding the right track. Even when you seem to get moving, an obstacle of some kind forces Ulf to retrace the path. You are making progress, but it is slow and tedious.

Your troubles are compounded by three things: the polar night, the altitude, and the extreme cold. The sun does not even break the horizon, and the sky remains in perpetual night throughout the day. Bright stars, the aurora and reflective white of the glacier surface make it easy to see, but you have nothing to mark the passage of time. This, compounded with the trackless terrain and Ulf's struggles, give rise to anxious feelings of being lost.

The temperatures continue to drop, and without the reprieve of a little sun's warmth, the temperature regularly lies below -40 degrees. The sashimono helps curb the worst, but anyone moving outside of its protective zone is exposed to the full brunt of the frigid air.

Lastly, in the latter days of the week, the thin air of your elevation take their toll. Unlike the relatively short time in the mountain pass, now you have no descent in sight. The sickness fatigues the entire caravan; you continue steadily forward, but each step is a struggle.

Thanks to all the magic she's wearing Maeve has been weathering the terrible conditions better than most, although she didn't think to do anything about the thin air or the lack of time measurement. So she's been getting a little . . . twitchier. . . than usual, hopping from place to place looking for signs of anything interesting. One gets the sense that another dragon or three would be a welcome change of pace for the girl already.

...and it's only been a week.

...we're all doomed.

Seeing Ameiko's condition, she quickly comes over and wraps her cloak around the older woman as well. "...are you sure you don't want to spend at least some time borrowing my boots?" she asks again, really sounding concerned this time.

Heng feels guilty that his companions suffer so while his amulet inures him from the cold. He dresses in full cold weather gear though he doesn't need it and volunteers for any duties that are beyond the range of the cold ameliorating standard. He continues to think of Koya's predictions and their journey so far.

harrowing:

The Harrowing

"And now, what lies ahead." Koya flips the last three cards over. "The Keep, Heng's role, followed by the Avalanche and the Desert." She sighs, pondering the spread a moment. "To me, the cards reveal that the path forward is bleak, perhaps hopeless, and will tax us dearly to prevail. The Avalanche fortells a disaster, but it can be avoided... it will test our hopes and willpower. The way out is through, finding the balance between the positive and negative aspects. The Desert is paired against the Keep, meaning that quiet, unrelenting perseverence may bring us victory."

Koya inhales deeply, closing her eyes for a long moment. "The future is invariably cryptic, and what we see today may change by a decision made tomorrow. We already knew peril lie before us, but it seems a trial is nigh, larger than any we have yet faced."

"That is all I can see for now."...

He checks on Koya frequently to make sure she is well and brings up the harrowing one day. "Tatya, do you remember your harrowing? It seems to have been fulfilled so far. There was a great avalanche and now we cross a frozen desert. Do you see anything more about the obstacles before us?"

"Tatya, do you remember your harrowing? It seems to have been fulfilled so far. There was a great avalanche and now we cross a frozen desert. Do you see anything more about the obstacles before us?"

Koya nods solemnly to Heng's question. "I do remember, and I believe we have faced some of the trials that Desna revealed. But the Harrowing is not so literal. The Avalanche card may foretell a disaster, but it may not be an actual avalanche, nor just a singular event either."

Sure, it's not a ton of gold, but if you had spec'd the caravan with feats like Merchant Mastery or increases to Resolve checks, you can easily make a few hundred gold at each settlement along the way... it adds up. Your caravan is built more for speed than for trade.

Seeing Ameiko's condition, she quickly comes over and wraps her cloak around the older woman as well. "...are you sure you don't want to spend at least some time borrowing my boots?" she asks again, really sounding concerned this time.

As Ameiko pulls on Maeve's boots, her constant shivering quickly subsides, and she lets out a contented sigh. "Nice to... just release the tension for a nonce." She grins and stretches out.

"Now, for the business at hand. Kelda, Shalelu, please bring Malnival to me." The two move silently together, bringing Malnival over from the wagon and setting him by the fire. Ameiko retrieves the Warding Box from her kit, and sets it down on the ground beside him.

"Here we go," she says, voice tight with anticipation. Steadily, she opens the first layer of the box, revealing the Amatatsu Seal within. Instantly upon seeing the artifact, you feel a calming presence wash over you, pushing aside the ails and aches of the journey. Ameiko raises the seal with both hands, holding it over Malnival and mentally activating its power.

A warm glow rises from the Seal, starting a deep, dark green and brightening steadily to a jade light and into a brilliant white. As it peaks, the aura pours from the Seal over Malnival. A flash of light blinds you momentarily, and you hear the elf inhale a breath. When your vision returns, Malnival is alive and breathing, his wounds completely healed.

The calming presence is gone, retreated completely into the Seal. Almost hesitantly, Ameiko returns it to the Warding Box.

Welcome back, Malnival! =D Of course, you also have a permanent negative level (until restored)...

Malnival sits up strait a surprised look on his face as his hands pat his chest and stomach. Slowly a look of disgust creeps as if he smells something horrible and he begins to undo the buckles on his armor. "If I die again, please take off my armor. It will take me weeks to get that smell out." The elf stands and drops his breastplate into the snow before giving a half grin to the others. "I really shouldn't have pissed her off. I take it we won?"

Malnival sits up strait a surprised look on his face as his hands pat his chest and stomach. Slowly a look of disgust creeps as if he smells something horrible and he begins to undo the buckles on his armor. "If I die again, please take off my armor. It will take me weeks to get that smell out."

"Noted," Maeve says with a small grin.

Quote:

The elf stands and drops his breastplate into the snow before giving a half grin to the others. "I really shouldn't have pissed her off. I take it we won?"

With that, the dancer looks away. "I'm thinking of it as more of a draw. Everyone got something they wanted, and something they didn't. But she won't be back if that's what you mean."